


The Permanence of Things

by Anatemnein



Category: Designing Women
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-24
Updated: 2019-09-24
Packaged: 2020-10-27 16:02:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 16,055
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20763080
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anatemnein/pseuds/Anatemnein
Summary: A client's generosity leads to an all-expenses paid cruise for everyone at Sugarbaker's.





	1. Chapter 1

~~~~

Charlene sat quietly at her desk, flipping through the pages of a Land's End catalog as she hummed to herself, her pen tapping on the desk intermittently.

Mary Jo looked over at her friend and smiled, closing the lid of her pen and leaning forward excitedly. "Whatcha doin' over there, Charlene?"

"Oh, you know," Charlene answered as nonchalantly as possible, trying to stifle a grin, "just picking out a bathing suit for this cruise we're all going on!"

She and Mary Jo squealed in unison, tapping their feet excitedly on the wood floor. "Who would've ever thought that we'd not only be paid in cash by a client, but rewarded with a cruise as well?" Mary Jo asked in disbelief.

Charlene clapped excitedly. "I know, can you believe it?" All four of us plus Anthony, as well as tickets for J.D. and Bill? We won't even know what to do with ourselves with all that time on our hands!"

"I know what I'll be doing," Mary Jo answered wryly, cocking an eyebrow at Charlene, "Ted has dropped the ball on picking up the kids these last couple of weeks because that stupid surgeons conference had him out of town. Well I've got him locked and loaded, and J.D. and I will be able to play...catch-up, so to speak." She winked cheekily, watching her friend blush.

"Ooohhh, Mary Jo, sounds like you and J.D. have a sexy weekend planned...?"

"I'm not saying anything else, I'm just saying--don't bother us" Mary Jo answered slickly.

Charlene laughed heartily as the door to Sugarbaker's opened and Julia and Anthony stepped inside, smiling happily at each other. "Hey everyone" Julia called out, giggling as Anthony winked at her and walking over to her desk, dropping a shopping bag in her chair.

"Well, where have ya'll been all afternoon?" Mary Jo asked slyly, cocking an eyebrow at both of them.

Anthony threw her a snide look and said, "At the Locklear's working on their kitchen, and out at the mall shopping for some stuff for our trip."

"Mmm, Julia, what's in the bag?" Charlene asked cheekily as Anthony walked behind the counter, grabbing himself a snack from inside the cabinet.

Julia waved her hand at Charlene and blushed, flashing her a look. "Charleeeene, that is none of your business" she said, feeling embarrassed and quickly shoving the bag beneath her desk.

"That's right," Anthony piped up from his place behind the counter, shooting them a stern look, "that's MY business."

"Anthony!" Julia cried, blushing an even deeper shade of red.

"What?" Anthony asked, cocking an eyebrow at her, "if it makes you feel better I'll be glad to tell them there's stuff in there that's your business too."

"ANTHONY!" Julia snapped, glaring at him and pushing her hair behind her ear, rolling her eyes.

Anthony smiled gently at her, walking back toward her desk. "I'm just teasing baby, y'all stay out of our business before we get in yours" he said, flashing them a serious look.

Mary Jo and Charlene nodded reluctantly, understanding that the fun should probably be over. Julia glanced up at Anthony, who was flipping through the papers on her desk. He very infrequently got stern with any of them, but she had to admit that when he put his foot down, she found it very appealing.

"You excited for our trip?" she asked quietly so the others wouldn't hear, having noticed that they'd gone back to their work.

"Mm-hm, I'm excited for our trip, and for that dress I got you to wear to dinner...and the other thing I got for you to wear after dinner" he said teasingly, cocking a brow at her.

Julia smiled sheepishly and looked away, and he took note, leaning over the desk and waiting until she looked back up at him. "And...I'm excited to spend some quality time with my favorite girl, because I love you more than anything."

Julia grinned happily, checking to see that the others weren't watching before she leaned toward Anthony and gave him a lingering kiss. "I love you too, darlin'. I'm so excited, I can't even tell you. It'll be our first big trip together."

"That's special stuff" he whispered, kissing her again.

"Yeah" she answered softly, grinning at him as the door opened and Suzanne trudged inside, an inordinate amount of shopping bags flung over her shoulders.

"Suzanne, what on earth?" Julia asked, her mouth dropping open in surprise.

"For god's sakes, Suzanne, it's a week long cruise, not a month long trek into the outskirts of Alaska" Mary Jo quipped, rolling her eyes.

"I don't need any guff out of y'all," Suzanne snapped, dropping the bags on the sofa, "I had a helluva time getting Consuela to help me haul this stuff to the car. Acting like she has no arms! All I asked was that she walk behind me and carry everything while I browsed at my leisure."

"Suzanne, you made Consuela shlep behind you through the entire mall?" Julia asked, walking toward the sofa and crossing her arms in disbelief.

"Yes, Julia, yes I did, and you can call me whatever you want, but believe me, it made things so much easier."

"For whom, Suzanne?"

Suzanne flashed Julia a haughty glare in reply as she began pilfering through her pile, as Anthony gently grabbed Julia's hand, dragging her behind him into the kitchen.

"Baby, we really should sit down and go over that travel brochure so we have an idea of what we're gonna do when we get on the boat" he said quietly, pouring them both coffee as they stood behind the counter.

"Yes, I know, it's just been so crazy--how about tonight? You stay late and we'll look through everything and try to get a schedule together. I know we can't possibly do everything."

"Well, no," Anthony said, handing her a mug and smirking at her, "we do have to leave room for...extracurricular activities, after all."

"Anthony..." Julia said quietly, glancing at him over the rim of her mug with a suggestive glance, poking him playfully in the arm.

"Any chance y'all can get off each other so Julia can help me with my shopping?" Suzanne asked sarcastically, watching them with a bemused look.

Mary Jo couldn't help herself, letting out a hearty cackle as Julia walked around the counter and back toward her desk.

"Suzanne?"

"Julia?"

"Shut up" Julia snapped, as Anthony smirked, watching Julia pout as she sat down in her chair.

"I think this time off will be good for all of us" Mary Jo said, looking around the room at everyone.


	2. Chapter 2

The door to the cabin swung open with a thud as Anthony and Julia trudged inside, dropping their suitcases on the carpeted floor. Julia heaved a sigh of relief, feeling her arms tingle from the weight of the things she'd been carrying. Anthony had offered to carry her things as well as his, but she knew that wasn't fair, and believed in pulling her own weight--literally, in this case--and had dragged her things on her own. Now, she was sincerely regretting not letting him be the macho man he wanted to be as she felt the soreness in her muscles.

Anthony walked over to the balcony and opened the curtains as well as the door, letting the warm sea air drift into their room as he stepped outside to take in the view.

"Sure is nice out here" he called over his shoulder to her as she came up behind him and wrapped her hands around his waist.

He chuckled, grabbing her hand and pulling her next to him, wrapping an arm around her. "You ready to knock 'em dead at dinner tonight?" he asked, thinking again about the slinky, sequined dress that was sitting in her luggage.

"Mmm" she hummed, kissing him gently and rubbing her hands over his chest, eliciting another chuckle from Anthony as he took her bottom lip between his, intending to push her over to where their bed was. Before he could even do anything else, Charlene's voice cut through their reverie.

"Hey y'all!" he heard from somewhere above them, both he and Julia snapping their heads upward in surprise. They looked to see Charlene standing on the balcony directly above theirs, waving excitedly. "Can you believe it, we're neighbors!"

Julia and Anthony flashed each other a look before Julia said, "I see, that's nice, Charlene."

"We'll be able to spend a lot of time together this way" she called back, before they heard Bill's voice call her name in a slightly admonishing tone. "I was just sayin' hi" she snapped as she trudged back into her room, Anthony and Julia shaking their heads on the deck below.

"Come on, baby, what say you we get unpacked, and then get ready for dinner?"

Julia smiled, looking over at their bags. "Good idea, darlin', I'm starving."

They walked back inside and unpacked their things one by one, and Anthony proceeded to shove their emptied suit cases into the closet as Julia entered the bathroom, laying her toiletries and makeup on the counter. She hung the gown off of the hook behind the door and stepped into the shower, emerging after a relaxing 10 minutes, wrapping a towel around her hair as she closed the ties of her robe and opened the door.

"I'm done in the shower, darlin', in case you want to take yours" she said, looking over at Anthony, who was plopped on the bed watching a rerun of All in the Family.

"I surely will oblige" he answered playfully, swatting her backside as she leaned over the counter and toweled off her hair. Julia smiled to herself as Anthony turned on the shower and began singing to both himself as well as her, stopping every few minutes to open the shower door and point at her as he crooned out love songs. He shut the shower off and emerged, grabbing a towel first and drying himself off, then a robe. Julia had already blow dried her hair and left it sitting in her rollers as she pulled out her makeup.

"Here, Julia, there's a small stool in the closet" Anthony said, sliding the white-topped stool over to where she stood so she could sit down.

"Oh, thank you'" she said, poking through her makeup as she sat down, hearing Anthony walk back over to the closet and pull out his suit.

"Hey baby?" he called to her as he changed into his clothes by their bed.

"Yeah?" she said distractedly.

"Leave the door open so I can watch you work your magic in there" he said, grinning at her reflection in the mirror as he sat down on the bed and watched her smooth her creme over her face.

Julia giggled and shot him a playful look. This trait of Anthony's was one of her favorites, one she'd discovered the first time he'd spent the night at her house. She had been getting ready for work the next day when she'd caught Anthony watching her intently in the mirror. He'd confessed then that he simply enjoyed it, liked watching the artful way she made herself up, something he'd always been curious about. Until then, he'd seen her almost always with hair and makeup done, but never the actual process of getting there.

"Sure, hun" she answered, winking at him in the mirror before she went about fixing herself up. She chose a dark, berry colored liner and lipstick to match her dress, and finished off with a surprising touch of gold liner over the dark liner to draw extra attention to the eyes that Anthony always said was her best feature. She sat back, studying herself momentarily to make sure she was happy with what she saw before unrolling her hair and fluffing the curls, as Anthony came up behind her. He pulled his hands gently through her lush, dark hair as he smiled at her.

"Leave it down like this?" he asked, stroking it gently. "I like it."

"Sure" she said, grinning at him as she parted it off to the side and spritzed it with a touch of hair spray to ensure it would hold.

She was about to ask him to hand her the gown when she noticed he was already taking it off the hook, and holding it up for her. She slid off her robe, revealing a dainty lace set of underwear before stepping into the gown and sliding it up over her shoulders, waiting for Anthony to zip up the back. She spun around once he was finished and said, "How do I look?"

"Like I'm the luckiest man on earth" he said playfully, watching as she looked herself over in the mirror, her dark hair falling over her sequined shoulders. She turned back to him and kissed him, saying, "You're not looking so bad there yourself" as she looked at him admiringly in his dark colored suit, with his white shirt whose buttons were left open near the collar.

They heard a knock at the door as Mary Jo called out, "It's just us, y'all ready for dinner?"

Anthony opened the door for them as Julia grabbed her clutch, looking over at Mary Jo, Suzanne, and Charlene, as she said, "Well, don't y'all look wonderful?"

"Well, we tried, anyway" Charlene muttered under her breath, looking enviously at Julia's lean, lithe figure as she bemoaned the few extra pounds pregnancy hadn't allowed her to shed yet. Bill and J.D. were shooting the breeze with Anthony as the women stepped out into the hallway, following behind as they all entered the elevator and slowly descended to the ground floor of the ship.

Anthony grabbed Julia's hand as they walked to their table, lacing his fingers together with hers. He watched as heads turned as she breezed through the dining room, men of all ages--many of them younger than himself--looking appreciatively at her, and enviously at him. He noticed more than a few stares from women as well, some of them intended for him--a help to his ego--but quite a few of them directed at Julia. Anthony had known, even before dating her, that going anywhere with Julia was the equivalent of walking a show horse into a barn of ponies, but it still made him a little jealous.

For her part, Julia had already taken down a running tally of the women gawking at her boyfriend--at least 8 so far--and had resolved to write their names in the notebook reserved for people who touched her backside without permission.

They all sat down and ordered drinks, as the guys leaned toward each other to discuss sports and work. Julia was listening to Charlene prattle on about repairs to her house to an annoyed looking Suzanne, who was scouting the VIP's section for a potential date. She nudged Mary Jo, changing the course of conversation, and said, "Now remember, Mary Jo, go easy on the alcohol. We don't feel like carrying you up the stairs of this fine establishment."

Mary Jo shot Julia a glare as Charlene smirked, remembering well their visit a few years before to Beaumont, where Mary Jo had imbibed on too many Appletini's in the limo and arrived fairly intoxicated.

"Well, excuse me, Julia, not everyone can hold their liquor as well as you" she sniped, shifting in her seat. Of all of them, it was no secret that Julia could drink the most, and enjoyed a good drink with the same relish with which she enjoyed firing off one of her speeches at any unfortunate who happened to upset her.

Julia smirked in response and nodded over to the buffet. "How about we get ourselves some supper, I'm starving" she suggested.

The ladies nodded in agreement and stood, marching toward the buffet area as the men stayed behind, still busy sipping their beer and comparing sports notes. They returned a few minutes later, plates full, and soon everyone had something to eat in front of them, and they talked joyfully with each other between bites, J.D. and Bill exchanging shop talk with Julia, always impressed by her business acumen as she talked about the design world and how business was going. Anthony listened proudly, never unimpressed by her level of intelligence. Eventually conversation died down and they all sat back casually, watching the crowd and just enjoying the atmosphere. A maître d' called out over the speakers that the dance floor was open as a soft, slow ballad began filtering through the dining room. Anthony grabbed Julia's hand and led her onto the brightly colored tile floor, its brilliance muted by the dim lights that hung overhead. The others followed suit, and soon all of them were swaying gently to the music, even Suzanne, who had managed to round up the most elderly looking man in existence as a dance partner.

"You havin' fun, baby?" Anthony asked Julia, rubbing his hands over the slinky gown that was trailing the floor.

"Yes I am" Julia said happily, smiling up at him.

Anthony pulled her close and nestled his face in her hair as she rested her chin on his shoulder. He tightened his grip on her waist and they danced quietly, completely unaware that Charlene was stealing glances at them.

"Aren't they sweet, Bill?" she said quietly to her husband, nudging him.

He looked over at Anthony and Julia and smiled at his wife. "They do look very happy" he agreed.

"I always knew they would be."

"...You did?" Bill asked, remembering that night at The Southern Plate before Anthony and Julia had started dating, and how he'd been the one to point out to her that they looked a little too comfortable. If Bill's memory served him--and he knew it did--it was he who had known they would end up this way, and Charlene who had chided him for making the observation.

"Bill Stillfield, I cannot believe that you are trying to start an argument with me on the high seas!" Charlene said, her mouth dropping open in surprise.

"I'm not starting an argument, honey," he said gently, "I'm just pointing out that I was the one who knew that things would work out, not you. I like credit where credit is due."

"You know, Bill, I don't mean to be critical," Charlene said, wriggling herself away from him a little, "but I don't think I like you as much on this boat as I did off of it!"

"Oh, really?" Bill asked quietly, smirking at her, "because I think I like you very much on this boat, Charlene Stillfield."

"Bill..." Charlene said, smiling in spite of herself. She felt a finger poke her in the back, and whipped her head around to see Suzanne behind them, holding her date somewhat upright as he struggled to keep up with her, his orthopedic shoes shuffling heavily underneath him.

"Hey, lay off the PDA, will ya? There's children here" she said, shooting Charlene a stern look.

"Huh?" her date piped up in confusion.

"NOT you" she snapped, turning back to Charlene.

"Suzanne, what are you talking about? In the first place, I have a right to flirt with my husband, and in the second place, I'd hardly call a few tender touches PDA!" Charlene snapped angrily.

"Well, I don't care what ya call it, it looks ridiculous. People are gonna start thinking we're an escort service, the way you're carrying on. And before ya get pissy," Suzanne said, holding up a hand before Charlene could say anything, "I'll be heading over Julia and Anthony's way next."

"I suppose that means you already ambushed Mary and J.D?" Charlene asked in annoyance.

"No, because Mary Jo is too short to reach up where J.D's head is" Suzanne said firmly.

Before Charlene could stop her, Suzanne whirled over to Julia and poked her in the side. Julia turned around in surprise, shooting Suzanne an annoyed look.

"Can I help you, Suzanne?" she asked coolly, wondering why she was eye to eye with her sister in the middle of a dance that had previously not included her.

"Yes you can, you can help me by leaving the lovemaking for the bedroom" Suzanne said curtly.

Julia's mouth dropped open and Anthony said, "Lovemaking?!"

"Well, it's just y'all's body language. I mean, the dancing is one thing, but the kissing, and the staring, and the touching--I'm not tryin' to be the only one upholding the Sugarbaker name out here."

"For your information, Suzanne," Julia hissed, "we are on a cruise a thousand miles from home in the middle of the ocean with our loved ones, minus those of us who pilfered the geriatric section of the VIP area to find ourselves a potential mate."

Suzanne rolled her eyes and Julia looked at her sternly and hissed, "Now I'm warning you, Suzanne. You better keep far away from the both of us if you're not happy with what you're seeing, because if you so much as disrupt my and Anthony's good time again, you will be swimming with the fishes, make no mistake."

Suzanne huffed in annoyance, but shrugged her shoulders and whirled off to a different section of the dance floor as Julia turned back to Anthony.

"I can't believe her" Julia said angrily, stomping her foot in frustration, "she's got some nerve if she think she can just waltz over here, to where you and I are minding our own--"

Before Julia could finish, Anthony laid a gentle kiss on her lips, looking deeply into her eyes. He pulled back as she looked at him in surprise, and said, "Baby?"

"Yeah?"

"Let's go upstairs."

Julia smiled saucily at him, as he took her by the hand and led her off the dance floor, kissing her passionately as the elevator doors closed behind them. 


	3. Chapter 3

Anthony groaned as Julia kissed his neck, watching as she sat up on her knees above him and pulled at the zipper of her dress. He pulled himself up toward her, grabbing her torso and trying to slide the zipper off as fast as he could without completely destroying her outfit. Julia arched her body against his, kissing the side of his face as he worked at her dress.

Before they could go any further, they heard a frantic knock at the door.

"Are you serious?" Julia said angrily, whipping her head around to look at the door.

"It's probably no one we know" Anthony said, pulling her close and kissing her neck.

"It's me, Mary Jo!" they heard from the other side of the door.

"It's probably nothing important" Anthony said, sliding his hands under the fabric of Julia's dress and over her thighs.

"It's very important!" Mary Jo called.

"It can't be that bad" Anthony groaned, kissing Julia's bosom desperately.

"I lost my clutch!"

"Damn it" Julia hissed, wriggling herself off of Anthony's lap as she struggled to close her zipper back up and stumbled toward the door. She flung the door open angrily to see a bashful looking Mary Jo, who looked up at her and repeated in a meek but terrified voice, "I lost my purse."

Julia sighed, agitated, hearing Anthony come up behind her. "Well, did you report it to security?" Julia asked, at a loss for what Mary Jo thought she could do. Mary Jo nodded, and Julia inhaled slowly, shot Anthony a look, and reluctantly stepped out into the hallway with him and said, as calmly as possible, "Alright, Mary Jo, it's alright, now where did you last have your purse?"

"At our table, Julia! I don't understand where it could be, I mean, I walked into the dining room, I sat down at the table, I got my food, I danced around the--"

Julia grabbed Mary Jo's shoulder and shot her an exasperated look. "Alright, alright, Mary Jo, I get the picture. Fine, let's split up, canvass the area where we were sitting downstairs, and see if we can't find anything. I'm sure your clutch didn't just grow legs and walk off, so it's gotta be somewhere."

With that, the three of them took the elevator downstairs, meeting up with the rest of the group, who were already busy canvassing the dining room for Mary Jo's small, glittery clutch. After about 30 minutes of searching, and about 15 of those spent calming down Mary Jo, a chubby security officer, who looked unshaven and like he spent more time catching up on sleep than securing the ship, came up to them and said, "Hey lady, is this your bag?"

Mary Jo grabbed it frantically out of his hands and cried, "Yes, yes it is!"

"Found it on some five year old who was with his parents on the top deck. Apparently, they just let their kid run around, do whatever, didn't think much of the bag."

"Well, they ought to be arrested for child-neglect and theft!" Julia snapped, motioning angrily. "I mean, what on earth happened to actually paying attention to your children when you're out in public?! What I wanna know is where they think they can get off just letting this kind of thing happen!"

The security guard stared blankly at Julia for a moment before he said, "Lady, I don't know, I'm just doing my job", before shrugging his shoulders and stalking off indifferently.

Julia turned back to the group angrily. "Well, I like to never!" she hissed. "I wanna know what his name is, did someone get his name?"

Anthony reached for her gently and said, "Julia, let's go back upstairs, okay, just forget about it."

"This situation is completely ridiculous, Anthony!" she huffed, letting him lead her, reluctantly.

"Well, we got the purse back, ain't nothing else we can do now, now come onnn" he said, looking at her emphatically.

It took Julia a moment to catch on to what he was implying, and she accepted his command without further protest, the rest of the group trudging to the elevators behind them. The door dinged open, and they wished each other goodnight, everyone going their separate and--Anthony hoped--uninterrupted ways.


	4. Chapter 4

The first rays of sunlight streamed gently in through the cabin window, crossing over Anthony's face and rousing him from his sleep. He blinked slowly, his mind taking a moment to remember that he was on the cruise ship, and he looked over to see Julia curled up beside him, her face half-buried against his arm as her hand clutched his bicep. He smiled, noticing that sometime during the night she'd discreetly put on one of his t-shirts to sleep in, something she always did when she slept at his house. He realized that he should head downstairs to grab them some breakfast before it was too late, gently stroking her hair as he slid out from under her, careful not to wake her. She stirred for a moment, then buried her face in the sheet and was quiet again, and Anthony took a quick shower and threw on some clothes, shutting the door quietly behind him. He returned 10 minutes later to find her sitting in bed, freshly showered, with the t-shirt still on, and she smiled as he entered the room and set their breakfast on the nightstand.

"Sleep good?" he asked, kissing her on the cheek and handing her plate to her.

She nodded happily. "I did, did you?"

"Sure did, you 'bout wore me out last night" he said, shooting her a sly glance.

She blushed, giggling to herself as she bit into a piece of fruit, and looking up at him through her lashes. "Well, I mean, we don't always have a lot of time together."

Anthony smiled, sitting down in front of her and setting his plate on his lap. "Ain't that the truth," he huffed, rolling his eyes, "I about lost my cool when Mary Jo tried to break the damn door down last night."

Julia laughed and stroked his leg gently. "What do we wanna do today, darlin'?"

Anthony looked at her seriously, biting into a piece of bacon as he said, "I don't care, I just want our time to be uninterrupted. No Mary Jo, no Charlene, no Suzanne. I know we came on this trip as a group, but this feel-good togetherness just ain't doin' it for me. When I got on this boat, I said to myself, 'Anthony, you've got the best looking woman in the world at your side, if you don't spend at least half your time alone with her, something's wrong!'"

Julia laughed, setting her empty plate aside and leaning over to kiss him. "We do give up a lot for our friends" she agree quietly. "How about we go for a swim after our breakfast has settled? I think that might be nice."

Anthony nodded in agreement, stirring some butter into his grits. "You bring a two-piece I don't know about, Ms. Sugarbaker?"

She swatted him playfully, looking at him with a cocked eyebrow. "Darlin', my two-piece swimsuit days have long passed me by, I will be out there in a nice swimdress, nothing less."

Anthony shrugged his shoulders and replied, "Well okay, but I hope it matches my leopard print speedo, otherwise I might have to distance myself from you."


	5. Chapter 5

The water was cool as Anthony jumped into the pool, deciding this moment was the perfect time to cannonball himself in like he did when he was a kid. Julia watched quietly from the opposite end of the pool as he splashed happily in the water, smiling to herself at the boyish glee that their vacation brought out in him. She slowly descended the stone staircase, taking a few deep breaths as she felt the cool water wrap itself around her legs. The deck on which the pool was situated--at the uppermost portion of the boat--was surprisingly quiet. She figured the fact that it was relatively early had much to do with it. There was another couple at the far end of the pool, but they were busy tapping away on their cellphones, seemingly oblivious to the fact that they were on vacation, and to Anthony and Julia. Julia walked slowly through the water, growing accustomed to the temperature when Anthony suddenly came up to her from underneath the water, sliding his hands around her waist and lifting her up against his torso as she steadied herself with her hands on his shoulders.

"Anthony, you scared me!" she said, lowering her voice self-consciously, having uttered a loud gasp of surprise when he first made contact with her.

"Scared? You? I don't believe it!" he said teasingly, furrowing his brow and shaking his head.

She smiled at him and wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing his temple. "You look very good in those swim trunks, Anthony" she whispered coyly in his ear.

He grinned in response, tightening his grip around her hips. "Mm, don't you start no foolishness out here, Ms. Sugarbaker" he teased, throwing her a smirk.

She giggled and looked down at him as he held her, brushing her fingers gently through his hair. "I love you, Anthony" she said, softly.

He smiled up at her, admiring the way her hair floated in tendrils around her face out of the loose knot that she had tied it up into. "I love you too, baby," he said, softly, "I couldn't ask for anything better than you."

"Really?" she said, brightening.

"Really." he replied seriously. "I love a lot of things about my life, but I love you the most."

Julia pouted at him as she fought back tears, wrapping her hands around his face and kissing him when she heard Charlene call out, "Yoo-hoo, hey y'all, over here!"

Julia and Anthony whipped their heads around to see Charlene, Bill, Mary Jo, and J.D. walking toward them. "Are you kiddin' me?" Anthony muttered under his breath, slowly lowering Julia as he released his grip on her waist.

"Now, now, don't mind us, you don't have to be discreet out here, y'all, it's not the office" Charlene admonished teasingly, dropping her towel onto a lounge chair beside Bill's and testing the water with her foot.

"What're y'all doing out here so early?" Julia asked, somewhat flabbergasted to see them awake at this hour, and even more so that they'd managed to track her and Anthony down on a cruise ship this size.

"Oh, well, we figured we should get out of bed as early as possible so we could really enjoy ourselves and have some fun! Suzanne's still asleep." Charlene chirped, lowering herself into the pool beside Bill who was already standing in front of Anthony. Bill clapped his hand playfully on Anthony's arm and said, "I see you beat us out here!"

Anthony and Julia exchanged a glance and Anthony said, "Oh yeah, well...you know!" trying hard not to sound as pissed as he was. Julia spoke up beside him, saying, ""What have y'all got planned, today?"

Charlene brightened excitedly and said, "Well, Mary Jo and I are going to go to the lower level and go check out the stores down there; the brochure said there're some really neat clothing places, jewelry shops--tax-free!--and a lot of other fun things!"

Mary Jo came up beside Charlene, grinning like a kid at Christmas. "Hey, Julia, you should come too!"

"Ohmygosh, that would be so fun!" Charlene half-screamed, wriggling excitedly, as she usually did whenever something amused her.

Julia and Anthony exchanged another glance, and Bill piped up, "Yeah, Anthony, you should join me and J.D. for some golf on the other deck, we'll be tee-ing off before lunch."

Anthony paused, glancing again at Julia, and said, "Well, I don't know, I mean, Julia and I--"

"Oh come on, y'all will have some time together, let's have some fun, how many chances do we get to go on a cruise?" Mary Jo asked, waving a dismissive hand at them.

'Hopefully never again' Julia couldn't help thinking as she plastered on a smile. "Well, I suppose a little shopping couldn't hurt" she said slowly, casting a hopeless look at Anthony, who she could tell was already deciding to give in to Bill and J.D. He nodded and said, "Yeah, yeah, okay, we can...do that", trying not to sound unenthused.

They all whooped excitedly and swam away, Charlene and Bill to one corner and Mary Jo and J.D. in another, all except Anthony and Julia who were standing dumbfounded in the center of the pool. Julia turned to Anthony and put a hand on his arm. "Darlin', are you upset?" she asked worriedly.

He paused for a moment, slumping his shoulders in defeat and shaking his head. "No, no, not at you, I'm pissed because you and I laid out an itinerary for us to do things together and now we're being babysat by our own friends!"

She stroked his arm, pushing him further away from the others so she could ensure no one would overhear them. "I know, darlin'. I don't want this either, but maybe if we entertain them for a little, we can meet up again later and have some fun, maybe watch a movie...?"

He looked at her solemnly, wrapping his hands around her waist. "Yeah, okay, baby, I'll be a good sport for your sake" he said.

She glanced over her shoulder and planted a kiss on his lips when she saw no one was watching them. "I can't wait to see you later on, darlin', I promise we'll work something out."

"I hope so" Anthony said grumpily, pouting at her as they exited the pool.

"Hey, y'all don't have to leave!" Mary Jo called out.

"Oh no, Mary Jo, it's alright, we've been here for a while. I think we'll just go upstairs and start getting ready" Julia called back, grabbing her towel quickly.

"Well okay, we'll swim for a bit more and come get y'all in about an hour and a half!" Charlene called out, playfully splashing Julia with water as she and Anthony walked by.

Julia nodded and stuck a fake smile on her face. "Great" she and Anthony answered in unison.


	6. Chapter 6

Julia smoothed a hand over her skirt and blouse as she climbed onto the bed, carefully moving her curls out of the way as she nestled against Anthony. "We only have five minutes to enjoy each other before they come get us" he said tersely, rubbing a hand over her back as she laid on his shoulder.

"I know" she moped, raising herself and resting her head on her elbow. "I don't want to sound ungrateful, because we're lucky to have friends who want to spend time with us, but I just wish that we didn't feel so..."

"Forced against our will with no other options?"

"Yes" she said, nodding as she rubbed her hand over Anthony's chest. She smiled down at him and said softly, "You remember how we first started dating, Anthony?"

"Remember?" he asked, popping his brows in surprise. "Julia, I don't think I could ever hope to forget the hell you and I went through in order to get here...although I do still remember that first kiss we shared that night at the office" he said, smiling at her.

She looked at him gently and whispered, "Do you want to reenact that moment right now?"

Anthony pulled her closer to him as he said, "I'll try to mind your lipstick this time", kissing her gently at first, then passionately like he had that night. They pulled apart after a few minutes, and Anthony said, "Hey, what say you we get this nonsense with our friends over with as soon as possible, then meet up at the movie theater downstairs and watch somethin', and then go grab a nice dinner?"

Julia smiled and nodded her head. "What time should we cut off this forced shindig?"

Anthony cocked an eyebrow at her and gave her a weary glance. "As soon as is humanly possible." He was about to turn away when he glanced back at her sternly and said, "Oh, and let me know if you have problems with anyone flirting with you. 'Bout half this damn boat was ready to knock me dead when we walked into the dining room last night, so I know there's some dudes cruisin' for a bruisin', if you catch my drift."

Julia giggled playfully, whacking him on the chest as she said, "Anthony, I didn't know you could be so...jealous."

"I'm not jealous."

"Yes you are!"

"No I'm not."

"Then what do you call this then?"

"This is the Bouvier Girlfriend Protection Program, Operation Cruise Ship. It officially launched last night when I was on my way back from the bathroom, and overheard some guy telling his pal what he thought about your legs." Anthony paused for effect, lowering his chin. "Those are my legs."

"And all the rest of it" Julia whispered saucily, giving him a kiss as a knock sounded on the other side of the door.

Julia got up slowly, opening the door as Mary Jo and Charlene bounded excitedly into the cabin. "Ready to go, Julia?"

Julia smiled, her edginess replaced by a slight happiness at seeing her friends so exuberant about spending time with her. "I sure am" she replied, trying to be jovial.

She and Anthony stepped into the hallway, J.D. and Bill whacking Anthony on the shoulders as they said their hellos. Anthony bent toward Julia and wrapped a hand on her waist, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek. "Have fun, baby" he said, smiling at her.

"See you later" she replied softly, waving as they went their separate ways. She turned and tried giving her complete attention to Mary Jo, who was prattling off a list of stores to visit, having studied the ship's brochure yesterday evening. 


	7. Chapter 7

Mary Jo slid into the booth opposite Julia, shoving her spoon heartily into her frozen yogurt cup, displacing some of the berries that decorated the top. Charlene was a bit more modest in her endeavors, still hoping to shed her residual baby weight, but had grabbed herself a smaller cup anyway. Julia had the smallest cup, which was mostly fruit, listening patiently as Mary Jo leaned over the table and said, "We've got to get to the jewelry store!"

"Mary Jo, you don't even wear that much jewelry, what's gotten into you?" Julia asked in surprise.

"I know, I know, but J.D.'s had his eye on this waterproof Seiko watch, and I think they might have the one he wants!"

Charlene smiled. "Well, sure, Mary Jo, we can help you find it, what color does he want?"

"Silver, nothing fancy" she replied, shoveling more frozen yogurt into her mouth.

They ate in silence for a few moments and then got to their feet, tossing their cups in the bin and heading to the jewelry store, passing Suzanne along the way, who was entertaining a group of elderly men at the eatery across the hall. Mary Jo darted quickly over to the men's section, as Julia walked slowly along the counter that housed the men's bracelets. It hadn't really occurred to her until then that she should get Anthony some jewelry, but now that the thought was in her head, she realized that he didn't have too many pieces, even though he did like wearing something regularly. She was looking carefully at a chain link band with a silver plate when a kind voice said, "Can I help you, ma'am?"

Julia looked up to see a young sales girl looking at her somewhat shyly, and she smiled kindly at her. "Well, yes, I suppose I was curious about this piece. I hadn't really intended on getting anything..."

"For a gentleman friend?" the girl asked curiously.

Julia blushed shyly. "Oh, he's more than a friend" she said softly, taking the bracelet into her hands and fingering it thoughtfully. Charlene came up beside her and said, "Oh, Julia, that's gorgeous!"

"You think so?" Julia asked, waffling over whether or not to take it.

"Oh yeah, Anthony would love that. Remember? He had one that Dondi gave him, but it broke a while ago."

"That's true, he did have something like this" Julia replied softly, feeling the gentle ridges of the band.

"It can be engraved" the salesgirl said, smiling at Julia.

Julia stood silent for a moment, contemplating, before she said, "Well, alright, I'll take it. How long does it take to have the engraving done?"

"We do it in-house, can be done by tomorrow evening. We have a few other pieces needing work first."

Julia smiled and said, "That'll be fine."

"Would you like to write down what you want us to put on it?"

Julia accepted the small blank card and pen, and was about to write something when she turned around to see Charlene leaning over her shoulder, peeking curiously at the card.

"Charlene" Julia said sternly.

"Oh, right, sorry" she muttered, walking over to where Mary Jo was standing.

Julia turned back around, pausing for a moment scribbling a short message and handing it to the young woman. She paid for the piece, and the salesgirl said, "We'll ring you when it's ready."

"Oh no, please don't, he and I are sharing a cabin. Could I just come by tomorrow evening, say about 8 o'clock, and get it then?"

"Of course!" the girl said agreeably.

Julia smiled at her gratefully, and walked away to join her friends, Mary Jo having found--and just paid for--J.D.'s new watch. They trekked exhaustedly out into the hall, and Julia was about to attempt to excuse herself to her and Anthony's cabin when Charlene cried out, "Ooohh, a spa, let's go get our toes done!"

"Charlene" Julia said tersely, shooting her a glance.

"Come on, Julia, you don't have to get them done if you don't want, they offer massages as well!"

On the deck above them, Anthony flipped his wrist over for the umpteenth time, trying to figure a way out of his predicament. He considered slipping away, but knew that would be ill-mannered--and awkward, since he'd see them again--so he hit the ball hole after hole, caring less that he was winning with each round that went by. He pulled on his pants and said, "Hey, listen guys, I'm getting a little tired, I think I might--"

"You know what, me too, Anthony" J.D. agreed heartily.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, what say you we all sit down for a bit and get a bite to eat and some beer?"

"Sounds great!" Bill piped up, walking over to where they stood.

"Well, I was thinking more about taking a nap--"

"Don't be ridiculous, Anthony. Some beef and beer and you'll be right as rain" J.D. said.

Before Anthony knew what was happening, he was being led over to a tiki-style restaurant, and watching as a cajun burger made its way over to their table.


	8. Chapter 8

Julia fumbled exhaustedly with her room key and shut the door soundly behind her, heaving a sigh of relief. Somehow one morning shopping trip had turned into a full-blown extravaganza, and it was now after dinner as she fell tiredly onto their bed. She heard someone in the bathroom, and called out, "Anthony?"

The door opened and Anthony stepped out, wiping his hands on his pants. "Hey, Julia, you just get in?"

"Yeah, you?" she asked exhaustedly, starring at him guiltily.

"Yeah, about five minutes before you did" he grumbled, plopping onto the armchair in the corner of the room and untying his shoes.

"I know things didn't go according to plan, but we've got a few more days to make it up to each other" she said quietly, looking at him gently.

He nodded. "Yeah, I know. Tell you what, your friends are sure a handful."

Julia was about to agree when she said, "My friends?", agitation creeping into her voice.

"Yeah, you know, Charlene and Mary Jo" Anthony answered, taking off his shoes and placing them against the dresser.

"Well, Anthony, they're your friends too" Julia countered, furrowing her brow at him.

"Well, I guess so. I think I feel more like I got stuck with J.D. and Bill since you all hang around together" he said, taking off his shirt and hanging it in the closet.

"What on earth are you talking about, Anthony? We've all been working together for years" Julia said tersely, folding her arms over her chest.

Anthony turned around and threw her a sharp look. "Listen, Julia, let's don't get riled up now, you know that they're your friends more than mine. I know y'all think of me as one of you, but all I know is my friends would've probably backed off."

"Riled up?!" Julia snapped, jumping to her feet. "Where on earth do you get off talking to me like this?"

"Never mind, Julia, just forget it" Anthony said, stalking off into the bathroom to take a shower.

"Well, I didn't exactly hear you protesting" she snapped, following behind him.

"Well, I didn't hear you say anything either!" Anthony retorted.

"Well, god forbid you be a man about things and own some of the responsibility here! I mean, you're the one always waiting for me to take the wheel, I'm starting to wonder if you know how to make a decision!"

"And what the hell does that mean?" Anthony snapped angrily.

Julia grabbed her purse and stalked angrily to the door before whipping her head around and snapping, "Never mind, Anthony, just forget it!" before slamming the door in his face.

She spent the next few hours stalking angrily around the boat, fending off a few advances from men and trying to cool down. For his part, Anthony scrubbed himself off angrily before getting out of the shower in a huff and laying down to go to sleep. Truthfully, he knew he shouldn't have blown up at her, and he knew he let his temper get the best of him. He intended to stay awake until she returned to apologize, but drifted off without meaning to, and when Julia came back a few hours later, it was close to midnight and he was facing the window with his back to her, already asleep. She quickly showered and laid down beside him, donning one of own night dresses and turning away from him angrily. She slept uneasily, and awoke a few hours later at 5:30, deciding to just get up and on with the day since she was in no mood to talk to him. By the time she'd finished dressing it was near 7:30 and she was slipping on her high heels when she heard him sit up in bed.

"Julia? Where're you going?" he asked in confusion.

"Out" she answered coolly, grabbing her purse off of the dresser.

Anthony sighed, leaning forward slightly. "Julia, listen, I'm sorry that I blew up at you--"

"Save it" she muttered, slamming the door in his face before he had any chance to protest. She stalked down the hall to Mary Jo's suite, and then Charlene's, rounding them up for a trip downstairs to get breakfast, stopping by Suzanne's room to see if she wanted to join them.

"Julia, it is 7:30, it is early, I am not interested in going downstairs with you" Suzanne snapped, fiddling with her sleeping mask.

"Fine, have it your way, don't say I didn't ask you" Julia replied, whirling around in her heels and stalking off down the hall with Mary Jo and Charlene in tow.

They spent the rest of the day bounding around the ship together, passing Anthony once, who was with Bill and J.D., again on the golf course.

Bill and J.D. waved at Mary Jo and Charlene, noticing that Julia didn't acknowledge Anthony whatsoever.

"Everything okay with you all?" Bill asked gently. His calm demeanor, coupled with his work experience, had left him adept at handling difficult situations.

"Yeah, I guess so" Anthony said, shrugging angrily as he stubbed his golf club on the green.

"Talk about it over a beer?" J.D. offered gamely.

Anthony nodded, and ten minutes later they were seated in the same tiki-style restaurant as Anthony explained to them the situation.

"Well, it's just that, I don't wanna offend you all, but sometimes Mary Jo and Charlene come on a little...strong" Anthony said, taking a sip of his drink and whirling the cold bottle around between his fingers.

"You don't have to tell us, buddy, we live with them, we know" J.D. answered, shooting Anthony a smile as he knocked back his beer.

"Charlene can be a force when she wants to" Bill nodded in agreement.

"Well, basically..." Anthony paused, trying to find a way to word things without offending anyone, "basically, I blew up last night at Julia because she and I were supposed to spend the day together, and she stayed out late with Mary Jo and Charlene, and I was with you all--"

"We didn't know you all had plans" J.D. countered, looking at Anthony in confusion.

"Well, I know, and that was the start of the whole thing, about how Julia doesn't tell Charlene and Mary Jo no enough, and how I..." Anthony paused again, nodding in embarrassment, "how I don't either" he mumbled, realizing that what she'd said earlier was true.

"Gee, Anthony, if you wanted to be alone with Julia, you should have just told us, we would have backed off" Bill said gently, looking at him sympathetically.

"Yeah, Anthony, we would never get upset over that" J.D. said, nodding in agreement.

"I know, I know" Anthony replied, picking at his napkin.

"Put the whole thing off on Julia, didn't you?" Bill asked, looking at him intently.

Anthony nodded sheepishly, tapping his hands on the glass. "Yeah, I might've said some things I didn't mean."

"You told her that she should've said something first, didn't you?" Bill asked, his intuition catching Anthony off guard.

Anthony looked at them in embarrassment, nodding his head. "Well, well, yeah that might've been how it went" he said, realizing how stupid his argument with her was now that he was hearing it out of someone else's mouth. "I might've told her that it was her responsibility to keep them in line because they're all friends with each other and well, we all just..."

"Hang out together because our women do?" J.D. finished, looking at him with a small grin on his face.

Anthony blushed in embarrassment, but J.D. clapped him reassuringly on the shoulder. "Listen, Anthony, I know you haven't been a part of our friend group as long because you and Julia got together later than me and Mary Jo and Bill and Charlene, but we consider you one of us, and if we come on too strong, just let us know. It's no big deal."

"Yeah, buddy, we won't sink the ship over a couple missed rounds of golf" Bill added teasingly.

Anthony laughed and thanked them, the three of them clinking their glasses together while on the other side of the ship, Julia poked mopily at her chicken while Mary Jo and Charlene watched her in silence.

"Julia? Is everything okay?" Charlene ventured gently, casting a nervous glance at Mary Jo.

"Oh yeah, fine, fine" she mumbled, pushing her chicken around again and not looking up.

Mary Jo hesitated and said, "You and Anthony have a fight?"

"Sort of" Julia shrugged, grimacing at the memory of what he'd said.

Charlene and Mary Jo exchanged a glance and Charlene said, "Was it because of something we did?"

Julia shook her head too eagerly, and said, "No, no" quickly, and Mary Jo narrowed her eyes in disbelief.

"Julia, if we've been crowding you all, you can say so" she said plainly.

Julia huffed, pursing her lips tersely. "Well, I suppose I might as well, apparently Anthony thinks so."

"What do you mean?" Charlene asked.

"I mean, Charlene, that apparently he thinks that I should tell you all no more often because you're my friends and not his."

"Oh..." Charlene said softly, unsure of what else to say.

"Julia," Mary Jo said gently, "he didn't mean that. In his defense, we are more your friends than his, or at least we were until you all started dating. He probably just feels a little...out of the loop, because for so long he worked for us and now he owns half of Sugarbaker's with you."

Julia rolled her eyes, annoyed that Mary Jo seemed to be siding with him. "Well, my apologies, I didn't realize that our dating and my promoting him would ruin his life!" she snapped over-dramatically.

Mary Jo fixed Julia with a steady gaze and said, "You know what I mean, Julia, he was probably just frustrated. Why not go get that bracelet from the jewelry store, go find Anthony, and talk this out. It doesn't have to big thing."

"Yeah," Charlene piped up, "Mary Jo's right. Anthony gets overwhelmed really easily, and he probably isn't used to having a girlfriend he can confide in like you, so he holds in a lot of things. I mean, look at the other women he's dated." She shriveled her nose as she remembered Lita and a few of the other women he'd brought around the office in years past.

Julia sat in silence for a moment, looking contemplatively at her dinner before she said, "Yeah, I suppose you have a point" taking a small bite of her salad.

"We'll go with you to the jewelry store when we get done here!" Charlene offered, feeling Mary Jo kick her under the table.

"What Charlene means is," Mary Jo cut in, shooting Charlene a glare, "you should finish your meal, get up when you want, and go find that man of yours."

Julia smiled gratefully at them, nodding as she said, "Thanks y'all", quickly finishing her salad before walking over to the store. The salesgirl spotted her first, and was already reaching for the small bag that they'd wrapped the bracelet in.

"Here you go, ma'am, thank you again for shopping with us" she said cheerily.

Julia thanked her and left the store, walking quickly along the hallway. She checked their cabin to see if Anthony had gone back yet, only to find it empty, and decided instead to wander out to the pool area. She breathed in the cool night air, dropping her things onto one of the lounge chairs and slipping off her high heels. She fluffed her hair and sat down on a chair at the edge of the pool, grateful that the deck was empty since all the other passengers were partying or eating dinner. She stared listlessly into the water, trying to figure out what to do, when she heard a voice behind her say, "Mind if I join you?"

She looked up in surprise to see Anthony standing beside her, looking down at her shyly. He grabbed the lounge chair nearest to him, and scooted it over to where she was sitting.

"Listen, Julia--"

Julia shook her head, and put a hand on his arm. "No, no, Anthony it's alright, I'm not mad anymore."

"You're not?"

She shook her head, lowering her eyes. "No, I talked it over with Charlene and Mary Jo, and they explained to me where you were coming from and all that, so it's okay, don't worry about it."

Anthony looked intently at her. "Well, I talked things over with the boys and they told me that I made a mistake and I owe you an apology" he said, lowering his head so that she would meet his gaze. She looked up slowly at him, and he took her hand in his and said, "I'm sorry, Julia. I shouldn't have blown up at you, I just...well, I guess I just get frustrated and sometimes forget that I can just say how I feel now that you and I are dating and I'm one of you all."

Julia cocked her head. "Anthony, you've always been one of us" she said softly.

"Well, I know, but now I actually really am where you all are, not just along for the ride, you know?" he said. "Anyway, I was wrong to get upset with you. It wasn't your fault, and I had the chance to say something too and I didn't tell anyone to just back off when I should have, and I apologize. I was wrong."

Julia smiled at him, and squeezed his hand. "Me too, darlin', if I had tried to see things from your perspective instead of losing my temper like I always do this could all have been avoided."

Anthony smiled, shaking his head at her. "I promise that from now on, you and I will be spending time alone, and I won't let anyone interrupt us, okay?"

"Deal!" Julia said happily, hugging him tightly. She pulled away from him and looked over her shoulder at the small bag sitting on her chair.

"Retail therapy?" Anthony cracked, stroking her waist.

"Well, not quite..." she said shyly, reaching for it and handing it to him. "It's for you."

"For me?"

"Yeah, I bought it yesterday morning when I was with Mary Jo and Charlene. I wanted you to have a real nice piece of jewelry for yourself, something you didn't have to penny-pinch for in order to get."

"Baby, I'm not pinchin' any pennies anymore, remember?"

"Well, I know, but, you know, you have before so..." she said quietly, watching as he opened the bag gently and pulled out the box. He glanced up at her in surprise, opening the lid to reveal the shiny silver bracelet, sitting atop a velvet interior.

"Julia, you didn't have to do this" he said, taking it out and half-teasingly admonishing her. He knew jewelry well enough to know this had cost a decent bit.

"I had it engraved" she said softly, watching him slide it gently between his fingers.

He looked up at her in surprise, pausing for a moment before turning it over. The smooth, silver plate was decorated with a sloping, cursive writing, and said simply, 'Love forever, Julia'. Anthony looked up at her in surprise, and said, "Julia, I--"

She looked away shyly, taking a deep breath before she gently grabbed his hand and said, "Anthony, I wrote that on there for a reason. I did it because, well, because..." she trailed off shyly, unsure of how to word what she was trying to say. She looked up at him, into his dark, boyish eyes, and said, "I know that we haven't been together all that long, not even two years, and we've had our moments and everything but...well...I know that we decided a little while ago that we probably didn't want to get married at this point in life anymore, and I've done that whole bit before and everything but...". She trailed off again, biting her lip shyly before she said, "I want to be with you forever, Anthony, and I know that. I know that in spite of all our ups and downs, and silly arguments, and bigger arguments, and our tempers and all that, that you're the one that I want to be with, for the rest of my life, forever. So, I wanted to give you something to symbolize how I felt about you, and, well, I hope that that's okay with you, that I feel that way."

Anthony stared at her in shock, trying to figure out what to say without sounding like an idiot. He took a deep breath in, looking at her as she stared silently at her shoes, and said, "Are you sure?"

She looked up at him, seeing the surprised expression on his face. "Well, well yes, Anthony, I'm sure" she said, faltering a bit, disappointed that he hadn't said anything else.

He realized that she was beginning to regret what she'd said, and took her hand quickly and looked into her eyes and said, "Baby, I've known for a long time that I want to be with you forever, I just didn't know you felt the same way."

She looked down briefly, and back up at him, nodding shyly. "Yes" she said softly.

He smiled, and wrapped his arms around her waist. "Julia," he said quietly, waiting until she looked at him, "I am more than okay with the fact that you wanna be with me because I wanna be with you forever too."

"You do?"

"Yeah, baby, I know there's no one else out there for me, you're my girl, and I want you to be my girl until the day I die because you're everything I ever dreamed of."

Julia looked down and bit back tears as her lower lip trembled. "Anthony, I never knew..."

He smiled at her, kissing her cheek and hugging her as he said, "Well, you know now, because you've got more gumption than ol' Anthony, apparently."

She pulled away gently and looked at him, a few tears slipping down her cheeks as she said, "I really will love you forever, Anthony, I mean that."

Anthony kissed her gently and looked at her and said, "I'll love you forever too, baby. No matter what happens, no matter if you get sick of me and break things off, or what, I will love you, regardless, because you're my girl, and that's just the way it is. I can't love anyone else like you."

Julia wrapped her arms around Anthony's neck as he pulled her to her feet and whispered to her, "May I have this dance?"

She smiled, letting him lead her to an open area away from the deck chairs and said, "Of course".

Anthony wrapped his arms around her waist as she let hers fall around his neck. "So, you think we ought to tell Dondi that we've decided we're gonna be a forever thing, or should we wait?" he asked playfully.

Julia thought this over, biting back a smirk. "Well, I think we can tell her, just as long as she knows there's gonna be no babies."

Anthony chuckled and whirled her around, looking at her as he said, "You know, Ms. Sugarbaker, forever is a mighty long time, there are parts of me that might stop working before then."

Julia popped up her brows in mock surprise and replied, "Really? Well then I guess we'll have to make use of those parts while the going's still good then, huh?"

Anthony looked around and lowered his chin as he said, "Ms. Sugarbaker, are you...implying something?"

Julia popped a brow at him and looked at him seductively as she said, "Yeah, yeah I am" kissing him teasingly.

Anthony whirled her around, taking her slowly to their cabin. An hour later, he opened the balcony doors and stood with her outside, dancing her in a slow circle under the stars.


	9. Chapter 9

"Well, where the hell are Anthony and Julia?" Suzanne asked, plopping a piece of melon into her mouth.

Charlene and Mary Jo shot her a look as they studied their breakfast menus, shaking their heads at each other.

"Suzanne, we already told you they're spending time alone today, okay?" Charlene huffed, rolling her eyes.

Suzanne smirked, dropping another melon ball into her mouth. "Oh yeah? Sounds like y'all two were ordered to leave them alone after playing piggyback for the past two days."

Mary Jo let her menu fall to the table and snapped, "Suzanne, we thought they should have some time alone since Julia did spend a lot of time with us, okay? Anyway, what's it to you, we've barely seen you since you discovered the wealthy geriatric section of the cruise ship. I'm surprised you ain't unplugged anyone yet."

Suzanne rolled her eyes and said, "For your information, Mary Jo, I happened to have hit it off with a nice man named Bertram, and he couldn't join us for breakfast because his oxygen tank is giving him trouble, okay?"

Before Mary Jo could fire off a reply, Suzanne noticed Anthony and Julia walking toward their table and muttered, "Heads up, here come the untouchables."

"Well, good morning y'all, everything okay?" Julia asked, smiling at them happily.

"Oh sure, Julia, gosh, you two look giddy today, you have something exciting planned?" Charlene asked, smiling happily at them.

"Yeah, you're practically glowing, Julia," Suzanne said, narrowing her eyes, suspiciously, "you pregnant?"

Julia's mouth dropped open as Mary Jo and Charlene snapped, "SUZANNE!"

"For your information, Suzanne, I am not pregnant, and Anthony and I are on our way to enjoy ourselves and have a nice time while you help your boyfriend breathe through his blowhole, see you later" Julia snapped, smiling at Mary Jo and Charlene before she and Anthony disappeared to the other side of the dining room.

"Suzanne, I cannot believe you just said that!" Mary Jo hissed.

"Well so what, Julia is a woman who carries babies very obviously, so I thought it pertinent to ask."

"Suzanne, every woman carries babies very obviously, what does that even mean?" Charlene said, rolling her eyes again.

"Listen, the last time she was glowing, there was a baby on the way, I was just checkin'" Suzanne said, taking her coffee cup into her hands. "Besides, I got a peek in Anthony's luggage before we left, and didn't see any 'security tape' if you catch my drift."

"Suzanne, why the hell were you going through Anthony's luggage?" Mary Jo snapped.

"I was NOT going through his luggage, Mary Jo, the bag merely fell open while I was putting something in my bag and I took a glance. Besides, Julia's my big sister, some fella knocks her up, I oughta know about it."

Before the others could reply, Suzanne shot to her feet and said, "Oo, is that eggs benedict, that is eggs benedict, I'll be back in a minute" as she trotted toward the buffet across the room.

Mary Jo went back to studying her menu when Charlene said, "Mary Jo?" in a meek tone of voice.

"Yeah?"

"...Do you really think Anthony and Julia don't use protection?"

"CHARLENE!"

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry!"

Bill and J.D. crossed the room together, sitting down with Suzanne with plates piled high with food.

Mary Jo looked over at their plates and said, "Hmph, I think I'll just get myself the buffet again, no sense in being fancy about it."

Charlene was bouncing her leg nervously and Bill looked at his wife curiously. "Honey, everything okay?"

Charlene bit her lip for a second before blurting out, "Julia and Anthony don't use protection!"

Mary Jo buried her face in her hands as Bill turned a deep shade of red, and J.D. struggled not to choke on a tomato.

"Charlene, I don't think that's any of our--"

"Well, Suzanne was the one who said it!"

"Oh my god" J.D. said, looking around desperately for a new table.

"SHUT UP CHARLENE!" Mary Jo snapped, scooting her chair away from her friend.

A few hours rolled by and Anthony and Julia were back in their cabin, watching a movie. Julia had rested her head against Anthony's stomach, feeling it rise and fall gently as the credits began rolling. She popped up excitedly, and noticed he was snoring lightly. She watched for a moment, then kissed him gently, resting her chin on his chest. She giggled as he slowly woke up, blinking his eyes and rubbing a hand over her back.

"Hi darlin', movie's over" she said, giving him another kiss.

"Mmm, you like it?" he mumbled, looking at her with bleary eyes.

"I did, very much" she said, nodding. "Should we grab an early dinner, or just laze around here for a while?"

Anthony mulled this over for a moment and then sat up excitedly. "Hey, you know what we oughta do? Go golfing!"

"Golfing?" Julia asked, looking at him in confusion.

"Yes, golfing, I'm gonna teach you" Anthony said, kissing her on the cheek and getting to his feet. "Come on, baby, Anthony Bouvier is gonna show you how a hole in one is done."

She smiled, feeling a little reluctant as she got to her feet and followed him up the stairs to the deck where the golf course was. She had to admit she was not at all sportif, and the thought of making a fool of herself in front of her boyfriend was one that mortified her, but she also knew Anthony was patient, and saw how excited he was as she followed him across the green. He grabbed two clubs for them, and took her by the hand as he marched over to a fairly simple looking part of the course.

"Okay, baby, come here" he said, taking a club in his hand and resting hers against a post behind him.

Julia stepped in front of him shyly, grabbing the club in her hands with uncertainty and said, "Like this?"

Anthony chuckled and said, "No, baby, here, stand against me, and let me show you how to hold it."

Julia stood in front of him and he took her arms in his hands and gently coached her on how to hold the club, and how to swing it. They practiced a few times together, knocking the golf ball into the hole at the end of the green--or rather, semi-close to the hole--when Julia said, "Okay, I think I'm ready to try on my own."

Anthony looked at her uncertainly. "You sure, Julia? I mean, it takes a lot of practice..."

Julia shook her head firmly, jutting her chin out stubbornly like she always did when her mind was made up. "I'm not as simple as other people, Anthony, I think I can handle this."

Anthony popped his eyebrows in surprise, and said, "Well okay..." knowing that backing off when Julia was in a stubborn mood was the best thing to do.

He watched as she planted her feet firmly on the green and put the ball out in front of her, taking a few deep breaths before she knocked the ball gently over the grass, where it slid smoothly into the hole at the end of the course.

"What the--?" Anthony said in shock.

"I wanna do the next course, Anthony!" Julia said excitedly, bouncing back to where he was standing. He looked at her in surprise, realizing he very rarely saw her get this excited about anything. He smiled proudly down at her, putting a hand on her back as he said, "Well, okay Tiger Woods, whatever you want" as he guided her to the next course on the green.

They putted the ball around together for another hour, Julia clapping excitedly when she managed to get another hole in one (which happened a few more times, to Anthony's complete shock). After a while the sun drifted lower into the sky toward the horizon, and she and Anthony grabbed two lounge chairs on the deck to relax in, sharing a water between them. Julia scooted her chair against Anthony's so she could lay her head on his shoulder.

"Darlin'?" she asked softly.

"Yes, baby?"

"Do you really think we'll be together forever?"

"Yes I do, I know we will" he said, grabbing her hand and lacing their fingers together. She smiled as she watched the sun set quietly in the distance, and Anthony broke the silence and asked, "Do you wanna know how I know?"

Julia giggled and said, "Sure, how do you know we'll be together forever, Mr. Bouvier?"

Anthony paused for a moment and turned to look at her, waiting until she looked up at him, and said, "Because you're the love of my life, Julia, that's how I know."

She sat up in surprise, and whispered, "Anthony...oh my gosh", putting a hand on her chest. He smiled at her and winked, hearing their friends chattering coming toward them in the distance as they walked into view on the deck. He sat up in his chair, looked over at Julia, who was starring at him with doe eyes, and stroked her cheek and said, "Forever, now, don't you forget."

She smiled at him and grabbed his hand, squeezing it before turning to see their friends coming up to where they were sitting.

"Hey, y'all, having a good time out here?" Charlene asked gently, smiling at how cute they looked together.

Anthony smiled and said, "Oh yeah, Charlene, we're having fun, are you all?"

"Yeah, we just wanted to let you all know they're gonna be serving dinner soon. We figured you'd be outside."

Julia smiled. "Thanks, Charlene, we were just getting ready to get up and go, are we sharing a table again?"

Mary Jo shook her head and held up her hand. "Uh-huh, Julia, y'all are more than welcome to join us, but please feel free to skip out, it will not hurt our feelings."

Anthony and Julia exchanged a smirk, and Julia answered, "Nonsense, we'll be there" shaking her head.

They exchanged their goodbyes and watched their friends walk off, and Anthony and Julia spent another 15 minutes outside watching the sunset before Julia nudged him and said, "We should probably head back, darlin', we still have to get dressed."

Dinner today was more casual, and they arrived in the dining hall, Anthony in a short-sleeved button up, and Julia in slacks with a medium blue women's button down shirt, a thin gold chain dancing against her skin.

"Hey baby, look, they got ice cream" Anthony whispered excitedly.

Julia smiled at him, and said, "After dinner, Anthony."

He nudged her teasingly, and they joined their friends, all of them playfully ribbing each other and talking over the remaining days of their trip. When they got up to get dessert, Anthony and the guys bounded over to the dessert area, as Julia shook her head and said, "How on earth do those fellas pack it away, I'll never understand it."

Mary Jo scoffed and said, "They burn a lot of calories by getting on our last nerve."

Julia shoved her teasingly and walked over to where Anthony was loading up his bowl with ice cream.

"Look at all these toppings! You know what, imma get one of everything" he said resolutely, piling chocolate and gummy worms into his bowl.

Julia grimaced and said, "Careful, Anthony, you don't want to spike your blood sugar and give yourself a cavity."

Anthony turned to look at her as he said, "Baby, it's only one bowl, and I've otherwise been a very well behaved Anthony, so I think I'll be alright."

Julia rolled her eyes as she grabbed some fruit and he asked, "You're not gonna have any ice cream or nothin'?"

Julia pondered this for a moment, then shook her head resolutely. "No thank you, Anthony, I need all the help I can get the older I get, plus these breezy outfits aren't nearly as forgiving as my suits."

Anthony regarded her carefully and said, "Well, Julia, I think you look very good and don't need any forgiveness."

"Oh yes I do, you're just being kind, but I'm a little fleshier in places I didn't used to be" she replied as they headed back to their table.

Anthony thought this over for a moment and said, "Well you know what, you might be fleshier in places, and you might need extra forgiving in some outfits, but when I look at you I see nothing wrong and everything right, so just remember that the next time you're picking yourself apart, okay?"

She looked over at him in surprise, and reached over to stroke his cheek. "Thank you, darlin'."

They sat back down and ate their desserts, Suzanne whittling off a list of stores she had to visit before the end of their visit--Mary Jo and Charlene teasing her about Bertram the entire time--while Julia listened quietly, interjecting a thought every now and again. She felt Anthony nudge her gently, and turned to see him holding out a spoonful of ice cream to her. She looked at him carefully and he smiled at her as he nodded, and she bashfully took the spoon from his hand and ate the ice cream from it slowly.

When she handed the spoon back he looked her up and down and said, "Hmm, just like I thought."

She furrowed her brow with worry and said, "What do you mean?"

"Well, you had some ice cream, and yet, you're still sexy. I was testing my hypothesis. I can now theorize that you will be relentlessly sexy to me, even if you eat more ice cream."

Julia couldn't help herself and giggled shyly, shaking her head as she looked at her lap. "You are too handsome and charming for me" she said, still giggling.

Anthony popped an eyebrow at her teasingly and said, "Ah, this is a new development, my subject has now begun the process of flirtation. I will follow this through with a filthy comment on the attractiveness of your figure."

Julia blushed and nudged him in embarrassment, turning to make sure their friends were still too invested in their conversation to notice. "Anthony, we save that kind of talk for the bedroom" she said demurely.

Anthony nodded and paused before asking, "May I possibly be permitted to stroke your thigh suggestively?"

She blushed and whispered, "Okay", giggling as he kissed her and squeezed her leg. She nudged him again, shaking her head as they returned to the conversation at hand.

"Y'all, they're having that light display out on the deck tonight, are you all gonna go?" Charlene asked, looking around desperately.

They all exchanged glances and nodded, Mary Jo and J.D. saying "Yeah, sure" in unison. "Just not too late, Charlene, I don't feel like chasing after you on the patio until midnight" Mary Jo said sarcastically.

Charlene rolled her eyes, as Suzanne piped up, "No for me, thank you. Bertram got his breathing tube situation straightened out so he and I will be dancing on the deck."

Charlene thought to say something smart, but decided against it, instead turning to Anthony and Julia. "How about y'all?" she asked tentatively.

"Mm-mm," Suzanne said, shaking her head, "those two have requested to remain in seclusion away from the rest of you, remember, Charlene?"

Julia shot Suzanne and glare and snapped, "Suzanne, you're not even gonna be there! Why don't you babysit your grandfather and mind your business." Suzanne stuck her tongue out at Julia as Julia looked at Charlene and said, "Yes, Charlene, we'll be there, just for a little while."

Charlene smiled gratefully, and they finished their dessert, heading outside as soon as the flash of lights streamed in through the dining room windows. Julia walked up to the banister and smiled as Anthony wrapped his arms around her from behind, kissing her cheek.

"So, what say you we ditch this crowd and head to the hot tub?" Anthony whispered playfully in Julia's ear.

Julia smirked and swatted Anthony on the hand. "Darlin', we promised we'd spend a little time out here with them, besides they're having a beautiful light display out here."

"Could be a beautiful display down in that hot tub too" Anthony said, cocking a brow at her.

"Anthony Bouvier, we are not--" Julia looked around to make sure no one could overhear "--making love in a public hot tub!"

"You mean you'd make love in a private hot tub?"

"Anthony."

Anthony sulked and withdrew his arms from around her waist, standing beside her moodily. Julia took note and stroked his cheek. "Darlin', what is it?"

"Nothin'" Anthony said, sounding like a stubborn five year old, something he usually did when upset.

"What is it?" Julia asked firmly.

"I just really think we should go downstairs" Anthony said, avoiding her gaze.

Julia furrowed her brow a bit, but realized that there was possibly some bigger reason he wanted her to leave with him, so she said goodbye to their friends and took Anthony's arm, as he led her swiftly to the lower level, stopping in front of a bench.

"Here, wait here, I'll be right back" he said, dashing into a bookstore before she could say anything.

Julia stood patiently in front of the bench as she waited for Anthony to return, watching the light display through a window at the far side of the room. She turned her head when she heard him approaching, and saw that he was holding a small, daintily wrapped book in his hands. It was surrounded by brown paper and tied with a piece of twine, and on the top sat a single, small red rose.

"This is for you" Anthony said proudly.

Julia took it gently and carefully peeled off the paper to reveal a hard leather bound book with gold lettering on the front.

"Darlin'," she said, looking at him in shock, "this is the first edition of The Brother's Karamazov from 1912, how did you--you must've spent--"

"Shh," Anthony said, waving his hand sheepishly, "it's not about the cost. That's a rare copy of a book by your favorite author, and I knew that when I saw it, so I got it. I know we won't be taking another vacation any time soon, and well, what're the odds, right? So, there you go."

Julia looked at him in disbelief. "My love, you already got me the bracelet for my birthday, and now this, I told you not to--"

"I know, I know" Anthony said as he shrugged sheepishly. "But, well, you're special to me so whenever I see something that I know you'll really like, I get it for you. I'm not as good as you about showing my love, but I am good at giving a thoughtful gift, and so...so that's just how I am." He looked shyly down at his shoes.

Julia felt tears stinging her eyes as she reached toward him and hugged him, stroking his face as she pulled back to look him in the eyes. "Anthony, you know something?"

"What?" he asked quietly, wrapping his arms around her waist.

"You're the love of my life too" she said, smiling at him as a tear slipped down her cheek.

Anthony blushed and she drew him closer, and they hugged one another for a moment before pulling apart.

"C'mon, let's go back upstairs and watch the rest of that light display" Anthony said, smiling at her.

Julia looked at him suggestively. "Only if you promise to take me to our cabin afterwards."

"With pleasure" Anthony said as she giggled in response and they walked arm in arm, first to their cabin to drop off the book, and then back to the upper deck.

Suzanne watched inconspicuously from her corner, having eventually joined everyone, as Anthony and Julia came back up the stairs and crossed the deck. She watched as her sister smiled at Anthony, and decided to wait for an opportune moment to catch Anthony by himself. That moment presented itself when he slid off his chair and walked casually over to the bar to order them all a round of drinks. Suzanne stepped up beside him and barked, "Hey, Anthony!"

Anthony turned to look at her, a confused expression crossing his face. "Uh, can I help you Suzanne?"

She studied him closely, looking carefully into his eyes before saying, "So, you really are in love with my big sister, huh?"

Anthony paused momentarily, somewhat annoyed, before replying, "Uh, yeah, we've been together for a while--"

Suzanne shook her head and laid her arm along the bar. "No, no, don't be funny with me, Anthony, this is serious, this is my big sister we're talking about. Now, I didn't have this talk with Hayden because our Mama took care of that, and I didn't have this talk with Reese because...well, between you and me, I always knew he was a waste of time, but I'm having this talk with you Anthony, because you and I are friends, and that's my big sister. She's always been there for me--every divorce, every boyfriend, Julia was there. So I'm telling you right now, if you hurt my big sister...it won't be karma you'll need to be afraid of."

Anthony studied Suzanne with a look of surprise before a slow smile spread across his face.

"What's that, why're you smiling, I threatened you" she snapped.

"Suzanne," he said, resting his arm along the bar and facing her, "after everything we've been through, not just me and Julia, not just me and you, but me, her, you, and everyone else at Sugarbaker's, the last thing you'll have to be worried about is wiping the floor with me, and the first thing you're gonna wanna start worrying about is figuring out how to get rid of me, because we're stuck for life, we're family, and that's it. That's how it is. Now I'm telling you right now, you don't have to worry about me, because if someone does hurt Julia, you can trust that they'll be picking their teeth off the ground piece by piece, because that's my baby, and that's forever."

Suzanne smirked at Anthony and punched him playfully in the chest. "You know something, Anthony?"

"What?"

"You're the only man Julia's ever really been in love with."

"I think you know I feel the same way about her, Suzanne."

"Yeah...yeah I do" Suzanne said, taking her drink and throwing him a nod before walking back to the table.

Julia came up beside him, looking at him curiously. "Anthony, is everything okay, you and Suzanne have been over here a while--did she threaten you?" she asked, narrowing her eyes.

Anthony reached over and rubbed her arm tenderly, grabbing some of the remaining drinks as Julia took the rest.

"No, baby, we were just shootin' the breeze and having some fun" he replied, winking.

"Well, okay" she said, looking at him curiously before they returned to their friends, passing the drinks around. They all clinked glasses and before they knew it, they were talking and laughing the night away.


	10. Chapter 10

The door to Sugarbaker's flew open and Anthony and Julia trudged wearily inside, dropping her suit cases on the floor.

"Thank you, darlin', you really didn't have to help me, I didn't have that much."

"Nonsense, Julia, I may be tired, but I'm not that tired. Now, come on, let's go on upstairs and put your stuff away."

"Well, what about your things?"

"I'll do that when I get home" Anthony replied, leading the way to her bedroom.

She dropped her bag on the bed and watched from the corner of her eye as Anthony carefully folded and put her clothes away, smiling to herself at how gently he handled her dresses as he hung them on their hangers. After about 20 minutes of working in quiet, everything was in its place, and she laced her fingers with Anthony as they trudged down the stairs. He was about to kiss her goodbye when she said, "No, silly, we're going over to your place."

"Julia, I'll be okay--"

"Nooo, no, you helped me with mine, I'll help with yours, now come on" she said, turning him around and following as he walked out the door.

They slid into the car and Anthony rolled the window down on his side as Julia did the same on hers, watching as he turned the dial and turned the radio on. He watched from the corner of his eye as Julia began wiggling a bit in her seat, finding the rhythm of the song and dancing as she sang quietly to herself. Anthony never let her know he noticed--for all her bravery on stage she was shy when singing in front of someone in an intimate setting--so he drove silently as he watched and listened to her, the lilting, husky tone of her soprano singing its way through a love song.

They pulled up to his apartment and walked silently hand in hand up to his door, shutting the door and taking his bags to his bedroom and sorting through everything.

When they'd finished, Anthony flicked his wrist over and checked his watch; a little after 7, and not too late for a home cooked meal. "Alright, good lookin', how about some home cookin'?" he asked playfully, glancing at her over his shoulder as he walked into the kitchen.

"Anthony, you don't have to cook for me, it's getting late, really, I'm okay."

He tossed some beef on the counter, as well as some lettuce, avocado, and some other vegetables. "Okay, so I'm glad we both agree on dinner, for me a large burrito, for you a taco salad."

Julia smirked as she opened the cupboard and poured herself a glass of white wine, setting one on the counter for Anthony as well as she watched him sauté the beef and slice the vegetables for both her salad and his burrito. He swiftly put everything together, drenching his burrito with sriracha sauce before rolling everything up as he set Julia's salad in front of her, thinly sliced avocado decorating the top.

He sat beside her at the counter, each of them quietly enjoying their meal before Anthony broke the silence. "You really wanna know what Suzanne said to me the other night, don't you?"

Julia rolled her eyes, hating that he could read her so well, as she shrugged nonchalantly and replied, "That's up to you, Anthony, I can live with the unknown, it doesn't scare me."

Anthony coughed loudly, nearly choking on his dinner as he looked at her incredulously and said, "You, the unknown? Julia, when have you ever been okay with not knowing things?"

"For your information, Mr. Bouvier, I have been more than okay most of my life, thank you very much."

"Oh really?" Anthony asked, laying down his fork, ready for the verbal joust that he knew they would have (and both secretly enjoy). "Let's see, let's try to remember all the phrases that you have said to me over the years that would suggest otherwise. Okay: 'Anthony, where have you been?'; 'Anthony, how did it go?'; 'Anthony, what on earth?'"

"Anthony."

"Ah-ha, yep, you say that when you know what's comin', and are trying to stop it. There again, the unknown eludes you."

Julia bit back a smirk as she took a casual sip from her wine glass and said, "Forget it, Anthony, I am turning over a new leaf, you do not have to tell me. I went the past few days not knowing, and I will--and can--go on forever."

Anthony popped his eyebrows in surprise and said, "Well okay, I'm glad we have come to this conclusion."

They nodded at each other and returned to their meals before Anthony said, "She told me if I hurt you that she would kill me dead."

Julia whirled around to face him and said, "Ah-ha! I knew it, I knew you could not keep it from me. Admit it, darlin', you love a good gossip as much as we women do."

"Ah, there again you are wrong, I do not keep things from those I love, Ms. Sugarbaker, meaning I bear no secrets and keep nothing from you, so in conclusion, you started this argument for no reason."

She stared at him, smirking for a moment before saying, "You know something?"

"Is this an unknown something?"

"You're lucky I love you as much as I do."

Anthony grinned to himself as he picked up his burrito, eyeing it as he said, "Yeah well, I mean, I guess I like you too and all."

"Oh?" Julia asked saucily, watching him bite into his dinner. "That's too bad, because if you were, say, in love with me, I might be willing to let you get to second base, maybe third, maybe eventually home plate, but--" she sighed dramatically, tossing her napkin on the counter "--I just don't think I can do that now."

Anthony looked her over carefully before turning back to his dinner and saying, "Would home plate by chance involve some...whipped cream?"

Julia smiled secretively, getting up from her seat and placing her dishes in the dishwasher before opening the refrigerator and taking out a can of whipped cream, leaning against the fridge as she eyed him seductively and placed a bit on the tip of her finger and slowly licked it off. "Thats if you're a good boy, Anthony."

Anthony pushed his empty plate away and folded his hands in front of him and shrugged as he said, "I'll have to think about that."

Anthony watched as her mouth dropped open in shock as he casually stacked his dishes in the washer and walked over to the sofa and turned on the TV. "Maybe let's get to second base first and then see how it goes?" he said, sitting down as he patted the empty seat beside him.

Julia narrowed her eyes at him as she chucked the can back in the fridge and stomped dramatically over to the sofa like a child, seating herself on the other end of the sofa.

"So," Anthony said, scooting over to her and leaning forward on his knees, waiting until she looked at him, "you come here often?"

"You!" she said, dissolving in a fit of giggles as Anthony pulled her closer, leaning back against the pillows as he pulled her on top of him.

When he woke up the next morning, he looked over to see Julia still asleep beside him, face nestled against his arm and one of his t-shirts on. He watched her for a moment before leaning over and burying his head in her hair and kissing her shoulder, taking all of her in as he listened to her giggle. If Anthony knew one thing, he knew this was forever.


End file.
